Land Securities Cuts Down Number of Environmental Targets in Bid to Become Fully Sustainable Business

Following an external review by JLL, Land Securities has decided to streamline its sustainability programme by cutting down its long term goals from 15 to 5. This simplification of targets is aimed at helping Land Securities become a truly sustainable business.

In its 2015 Sustainability Report, Land Securities outlines the new streamlined 2020 targets. These include a zero waste sent to landfill and a 70% recycling rate, 15 % water and 15% energy consumption reduction in their buildings.

The company also reported that 100% of waste was already diverted from landfill in all sectors except its leisure portfolio. However, recycling rates dropped in the last year, from 55% to 49%.

Over 2014-2015, energy consumption in sites managed by Land Securities fell by 8%. Successful initiatives on this front have included the retrofitting of LED lights, the use of a ground source heat pump system, and solar panel arrays.

Group chief executive Robert Noel said: “There’s a simple business rationale for our balanced approach - if we don’t behave in the right way today, our stakeholders won’t do business with us tomorrow.

“They have a choice. Customers can either occupy or visit our space or not. Communities can support our schemes and properties or not. Partners can choose whether they want to work with us or not. Employees can choose whether to spend their time here or go elsewhere.

“And investors will only consider investing in us if we’re meeting the needs of these other groups. Put simply, we will only continue to thrive as a business if all these people choose us.”